Consumer products for treating fibrous materials, such as hair and fabrics, are a staple in most households. Such products provide a variety of benefits, including cleaning benefits, styling benefits, wrinkle removal, and the like.
In the field of hair care products, consumers are constantly demanding products that meet their daily styling needs, such as straightening hair or curling hair, without damaging the hair. The perceived and sometimes real impact of various treatments and the implements such as blow drying and flat iron can have detrimental effects on the acute and chronic nature of hair.
Permanent methods, such as hair relaxers, usually comprise the steps of applying onto hair a composition comprising a high pH solution (or combination of components to generate high pH), leaving on for a protracted time and then applying a neutralizing composition. A relaxer is a treatment predominately used by people having naturally curly hair to permanently straighten hair. The treatment relies on either the one-step sodium hydroxide (lye) or a two step (e.g. guanidine carbonate and calcium hydroxide) to achieve very high pH (pH 12-14).
Semi-permanent benefits can be achieved using redox chemistry such as thioglycolic acid (TGA) and hydrogen peroxide. Here, the curly hair is transformed into the straight hair because the disulfide bonds are broken by the reaction with TGA. The straighter style is locked in during the oxidation step with hydrogen peroxide.
Non-permanent methods usually comprise the step of heating the hair with a flat-iron or heating element. Methods using such devices in combination with chemically-modifying the internal hair fibres can obtain long-lasting effects e.g. over several months. The Brazilian Keratin Treatments (BKTs) enable the achievement of a straight hairstyle that lasts several months. The key active in BKTs is formaldehyde. The most efficacious treatments (used mainly in salons) rely on high temperature—usually 232° C. (450° F.)—with formaldehyde. Hair treated with products with high concentration of formaldehyde such as Brazilian Blowout delivers semi-permanent straight hair. Over time and following shampooing, the hair reverts back to a curly configuration.
The known methods for straightening or curling hair all have drawbacks. The permanent methods are typically time-consuming and may damage hair.
In the field of fabric care products, consumers desire products that can be used to impart a particular durable or semi-permanent shape to the fabrics, whether it be straightening fabrics (such as in removing wrinkles from fabrics) or imparting creases in fabrics (such as in creasing trousers or shirts). Such products used to impart such shape to fabrics typically involve the use of high heat (e.g. 275-450 F), such as using a heated clothes iron. Products are used in conjunction with a heated iron, such as spray starch or the like. The use of a heated iron and associated products can, over time, lead to degredation of the fabrics and can yield fabrics that have an unpleasant hand feel (e.g. being overly stiff). In addition, subsequent washing of the fabrics will tend to remove the previously imparted shape to the fabrics.
There is a need therefore for providing a method for shaping a fibrous material, such as hair or fabrics. Further, there is a need for doing so without unduly damaging the fibrous material being shaped.